The Violin Contest “Andrea Postacchini”, organized by the Association Antiqua Marca Fermana, is an international violin appointment taking place since 1994 in Teatro dell’Aquila in Fermo. The event resolves to keep alive the memory of the excellent luthier and to offer to young musicians from all over the world the opportunity to show their talent.
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The numbers revolving around the Contest are noteworthy: hundreds of competitors, signed from every Nation, compete for the prestigious prize and a jackpot divided into prizes, special prizes, scholarships and the prize to the overall winner.
Andrea Postacchini was born in Fermo on 30 November 1781. In 1815 he was already a “valorous maker of string instruments”, in 1824 he signed his violin as work n. 214. In Fermo, in its domestic laboratory in via delle Vergini, he built bowed string instruments, guitars, bows and he dedicated himself also to restoration; he characterized the varied personal production through the careful choice of woods, the elegance of the cambers and the refinement of the paints, usually of yellow-golden or red-brown colour. All this, as he was still alive, earned him the reputation of excellent luthier; his instruments, very sought-after also thanks to their nice richness, reached soon very high quotations and they were commercialized in the entire Europe. His production during the artistic maturity often has the label “Andreas Postacchini Firmanus fecit sub titulo S. Raphaelis Arcang. 18..”.
After his death, occurred in Fermo on 3 February 1862, Postacchini was called “Stradivari of Marche”.
Today he’s considered among the classical Italian luthiers of XIX century.